KYUSS, Slo
Burn, Unida, Hermano, VISTA CHINO - whatever John Garcia had a hand in
turned immediately to success. The 43 -year-old always knew that he wanted
create his own style within those bands and established himself as the most
distinctive voice of the entire Desert / Stoner Rock scene.

With VISTA CHINO, Garcia makes music very close to his KYUSS roots, but on his
self-titled solo album he also ventures out with some experiments and convinces
all along the line. This record is full of first-class, catchy rock numbers
that commute equally between Classic Rock and concise Stoner elements.

Once you’ve made contact and started ingesting the tracks 'My Mind' or '5000
Miles', you will see this album is spreading like an infection to the body and
one is happy to be involved in the short and crisp ‘Saddleback’ or
'Confusion', which is strongly rooted in Blues. 'Her Bullets Energy' is the
next ultra-bouncer on the record, with the legendary Robby Krieger (THE DOORS)
on the guitar. John Garcia has delivered a multi-faceted and extremely intense
solo album that will stir up more dust than a sandstorm in the California
desert.

Danko Jones,
Tom Brayton, Mark Diamond and also Garcia's old cohort of KYUSS Nick Oliveri
show up as guest musicians to round out this solo masterpiece.

Review:

John
Garcia is a man who doesn't really need any introduction, so suffice it to say
that he returns here with a set of solo tunes that are just about perfect for
the current heat wave and, indeed, perfect for anyone who wants some laid back
vibes. Lo-fi, bluesy and soulful, the hallmarks that many love about the man's
past ventures are here, but wrapped in a straightforward and old school rock
package.

‘My Mind’ is straight ahead catchy- great
vocal- and introduces you to the album in fine style. ‘Rolling Stoned’ follows and sounds exactly how you would
expect/want from the title. Crank it up, have a good time, relax...

‘Flower’is a great groove and continues the
garage vibe of the release- all boxy drums and scratchy vocals. ‘The BLVD’has a wonderfully
relaxed groove and a good hook (The screw's loose...) which leads into the more
aggressive ‘5000 Miles’(the
tempo doesn't lift too much, though). A little like Steve Earle's ‘Six Days On The Road’ in terms of
lyrical theme and a great travelling tune with a surprisingly sinister sounding
guitar bridge.

‘Confusion’ goes down tempo, all doomy guitars
that is lifted by Garcia's bright vocal performance pre-wah pedal usage for a
brief bridge. No percussion (well, until the very end), just guitar and voice.
An interesting bridge track before ‘His
Bullets Energy’restores the four on the floor groove while bass
goes walkabout.

‘Argleben’is a little quicker and
heavier. Nice slow down at the end, too. ‘Saddleback’is quicker again as the track rolls along
effectively. Great riffs are on show here, prior to a bass and drums breakdown.
Again, it's a good hook. The material here is all of a type- no huge surprises-
but that is one of the record's strengths. You get a mood piece, just right for
relaxing and even for having a good time. Things get more excitable again on ‘All These Walls’ but the pace, while
energetic is held back enough to nod along to. ‘Her Bullets Energy’ closes the show in languid style- acoustic
guitar is the order of the day, accompanied by some basic percussion and
Garcia's ever-golden voice.

If
you like Kyuss, Vista Chino, QOTSA or indeed Unida, Fu Manchu etc etc then this album is a must have.
If you like laid back rock with a stoner vibe, strong hooks and a winning vocal
performance then ditto. If you don't like any of the aforementioned bands or
characteristics, I pity you, because you are missing out- so give this one a
try anyway. A strong album.

Words by: Richard Maw

This
record is available to preorder here and will be available
everywhere on 1/8/2014

Band Submissions

To those bands who have recently issued their first demo or album via bandcamp and would like to be featured on our 666 Pack Review or considered for a full review or stream please contact Aaron via email including your EPK, band bio, album file or download code, including artwork.

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We will consider bands from any genre but exclusively stoner, sludge, doom, psych, post-metal, experimental, black-metal etc. (Whilst I would like to respond to every email, this is not always possible.) Thanks